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You’re wondering how to build a community around your start-up ?

It’s complicated to get your own community, where do you start? I’ve learned about what a good community looks like, and how to proceed step by step to get it! Building a community around your start-up can be one of the cheapest ways to create momentum for your product. A community is much more than marketing campaigns, and can help you throughout your company’s life if you take the time to grow it right, and to look after it.

So, are you ready to get the recipe to cook a hot and delicious community?

1. Define your objectives!

Don’t allocate resources into builing a community without defining your objectives. The purpose could include support, digital marketing or networking, but there should also be some way for community members to meet their objectives.

2. Know who your users are!

To get the foundation of a good community, get to know all of your users one at time. What are they expecting about you, about your product and about their relationship with you?

3. Define your story

On social media, your brand will be speaking, it’s important to humanize it! You have a history, values, quality, this is your personality! Now it is time to build your brand voice.

4. Establish guidelines

Create a policy that clearly identifies what community members can and can’t do, as well as how violations of the policy will be handled.

5. Take your time

Establishing your own community will not happen in a week. Build your community one person at time and take time to do it right.

6. Add social networking to your product

If you want people to share, make it really easy for them. Ask them to follow you on Twitter and like you on Facebook. Suggest opportunities for them to tweet or share with their friends.

7. Connect your members

Having Twitter followers or likes doesn’t mean you have a community. By focusing on building a place where community members can talk to each other, not just you, you’re on the way to building a scalable community that can sustain itself. Make sure your community finds value out of their involvement — focus on building that value, and your community will not only stick around but become a huge supporter of your company’s.

8. Give privileges

The privileges for non-members and members should be different, thus providing an incentive to join the community. For example, you might allow members access to special content, to new information, discounted products, etc.

9. Highlight Influential Members

Influential members in a community have a direct impact on the behavior of other users in the community. By engaging and highlighting your “powerful” members, you’ll empower them to help you to develop your community.

10. Get insights

Social is measurable, note which of your efforts get the best responses, and try to do more like them.